Table of Contents
What is the difference between the W and Z bosons?
The two (charged) W bosons each have a mass of about 80 GeV/c2 whereas the (neutral) Z boson has a mass of about 90 GeV/c2. At most, a few MeV of energy are released in this process, corresponding to the difference in mass between the original nucleus and the resultant nucleus.
Why do W bosons only exist for a short time?
Virtual, or exchange, particles such as the photon or the W boson (W or W+) are shown as wavy lines. W bosons are heavier than a neutron and give rise to the weak force. Since they exist for a very short time they do not violate the law of conservation of energy.
What does the W boson do?
The W boson, which is electrically charged, changes the very make up of particles. It switches protons into neutrons, and vice versa, through the weak force, triggering nuclear fusion and letting stars burn.
Why are W bosons charged?
boson charge induces electron or positron emission or absorption, thus causing nuclear transmutation. …
Why do W and Z bosons have mass?
The quarks, leptons, and W and Z bosons moving around through space interact with this field, which is why these particles have mass. The photons and gluons do not interact with the Higgs field, which is why these particles do not have mass.
What is the difference between neutrino and antineutrino?
An antineutrino is the antiparticle partner of the neutrino, meaning that the antineutrino has the same mass but opposite “charge” of the neutrino. Although neutrinos are electromagnetically neutral (they have no electric charge and no magnetic moment), they may carry another kind of charge: lepton number.
What is neutrino antineutrino?
What is W boson made of?
“udd” and “n” refer to a neutron, made of one up quark and two down quarks. “udu” and “p” refer to a proton, made of two up quarks and one down quark. W– refers to a W– boson, which decays into an e– (electron) and a ve with a line over it (a electron antineutrino).
Both the muon and the tau, like the electron, have accompanying neutrinos, which are called the muon-neutrino and tau-neutrino. The three neutrino types appear to be distinct: For instance, when muon-neutrinos interact with a target, they will always produce muons, and never taus or electrons.
What is the difference between a neutron and a neutrino?
Neutrons are large and made out of multiple other particles and form part of the atomic nucleus, while neutrinos are tiny, single particles with almost no effect.
What’s the difference between an electron and an electron neutrino?
A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. In particle interactions, although electrons and electron-neutrinos can be created and destroyed, the sum of the number of electrons and electron-neutrinos is conserved.